


Relapse

by MotherofAngst199



Series: Push and Pull [1]
Category: Elite (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Guznadia, Happy Ending, One Shot, Post Season 2, Protective Guzmán, Sick Nadia, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:09:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23900608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MotherofAngst199/pseuds/MotherofAngst199
Summary: Being the perfect student and the perfect daughter can be taxing. Especially so, when it entails the added clause of avoiding the one person who holds your heart.Feverish and stretched beyond her limits, Nadia relapses.Luckily, she has a Guzmán in her life.Set after the events of Season 2.
Relationships: Guzmán Nunier Osuna/Nadia Shana
Series: Push and Pull [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1722721
Comments: 13
Kudos: 63





	Relapse

Guzmán couldn’t help but notice her tired eyes struggling to stay focused on her book. Every few minutes her eyes would start to droop shut and her chin would slip off her palm and she’d jolt awake, repeating the whole cycle again. Under normal circumstances, a soft chuckle would have escaped his lips. But nothing in Las Enchinas had been remotely normal since the past year. Somehow, all of them had adapted to the craziness like broken bones which had healed wrong, enough to function but never whole again.

Guzmán was barely getting by, waking up to the harrowing realisation of how lonely he was. Emptiness would begin engulfing his insides and he would think about the people he ached to have back in his life. His sister, his best friends Ander and Polo. And Nadia.

_Nadia._

His heart ached the most when he thought about her, about how he had almost found an ounce of comfort amidst the chaos but lost it too. And with that, he would drag himself and his heavy heart to school only to be tormented further by her presence.

Seeing her everyday at school, however, both wounded and healed him simultaneously. He yearned to hear her voice, to lose himself in her huge brown eyes. He craved her touch. He missed her. _He loved her._ And he wanted to grab her, shake her and yell it at her face.

But when he looked at her, really looked at her, he could see beyond the forced smile she plastered on her face. He could see the fatigue oozing off her, the dark circles under her eyes that always seemed to appear darker than the previous day. She was pushing too hard. Ever since their video went around she had withdrawn into herself, shutting everyone out, shutting _him_ out. Despite his countless messages and calls going unanswered, he had visited her shop every other day during the vacation. But all he had managed to get out of her were some automated replies and rude dismissals. No matter what he did, he just couldn't get through to her and whenever he tried to push her too hard, he only ended up hurting her further. So he had stopped trying. He would do whatever he could to make her life easier. If being with him gave her nothing but pain, then he would stay away from her even if he shredded his heart in the process.

Hence, everyday Guzmán would keep himself out of her way yet keep her in his sight. For he could never cease to worry about her. And her recent state only escalated it further. His desires to declare his feelings and win her back took a backseat and he was filled with an overwhelming need to protect her.

Nadia seemed to be at her worst today. She appeared so fragile that he was afraid she'd break into pieces if he so much as touched her. It took everything he had to not rush to her, hold her close to his heart and wipe away all her troubles. But Nadia didn't need a knight in shining armour. No, the only person who could save her was herself. She just seemed to have given up on it.

A movement at the corner of his eyes broke him out of his reverie and his eyes snapped to her. She pushed out her chair and rose up, her arms struggling to balancing some books - way too many books.

 _'Careful!'_ his instincts warned silently, and he gripped the sides of his table to keep himself seated.

She had only taken two steps before she swayed on her feet, the books tumbling down in an avalanche.

Guzmán leapt out of his chair in a heartbeat and rushed to her, grabbing her arms before she fell.

"Nadia!" He shook her, his heartbeats wild with alarm.

She squeezed her eyes, her hands finding his shoulders as she tried to find her footing. But Guzmán drew back the chair next to her and lowered her to it, sitting down on his knees in front of her.

Nadia took a few deep breaths, slowly opening her eyes. Guzmán waited with barely contained agitation as she kept her gaze fixed on her lap, collecting herself.

“Nadia, what’s wrong?” His voice came out soft, laced with concern.

She clenched her jaws and Guzmán wondered if she’d speak at all. “Nothing. I stood up too fast. Got a head rush.” She avoided his piercing gaze and started getting out of the chair.

Guzmán scoffed incredulously and stood up placing his hands on either sides of the chair, effectively caging her in, forcing her to sit back down. “Don’t feed me bullshit, Nadia. What’s really going on?”

It hurt being lied to. The wounds of his friends’ lies and betrayals were still fresh on his mind. He was aware that Nadia had never really been forthcoming about her problems but that knowledge did little to quench the irrepressible responsibility he felt towards her.

He searched her face for the truth. If there was one thing Nadia sucked at, it was to pull a blank expression. Her eyes were a window to her thoughts and Guzmán, having spent abnormal lengths of time observing her, was getting increasingly proficient at reading her. He took in her flushed cheeks, her red nose and glassy eyes. His heart constricted. Was she sick? He placed his palm on her forehead and closed his eyes, sighing as the burning temperature confirmed his fear.

“You shouldn’t have come to school today-“

“I do not have time for your reprimands, Guzmán.” She cut him off, turning her face away from his palm. “I need to get home.” She steeled her expression and squirmed to get up. 

He stood there for a few seconds, his outstretched hand still lingering close to her face, his fingers itching to tuck the stray locks behind her ear. Instead, he curled his fingers, nails digging into his palm as he stepped back, letting her stand.

He stood rooted to his spot, glaring at her, unsure of what to say. A million thoughts raced through his mind as he watched her collect the fallen books. Wordlessly, he crouched down and picked up the heavy ones before she could reach them. He could sense her regarding him a look, but he rose up and placed the books on the shelves before she could protest.

 _‘Let me take you home’,_ he almost pleaded. He knew that she’d dismiss him, that she hated being a damsel in distress but God, was it hard to subdue the fierce protective impulses she always triggered in him.

“How do you plan to get home?” He asked, not looking at her, unable to stop himself.

“The pool car is waiting outside.”

“It left-“ he paused to check his watch, “-about an hour ago”.

She parted her lips, looking at him with disbelief, and shook her head. “You’re so not supposed to know that.”

A small, defeated smirk traced his lips. “Yes, I keep tabs on you.” He never really had inhibitions about admitting himself to her. “What are you gonna do about it, huh? You’ve already refused to acknowledge my presence. What more can you possibly do to punish me?” His voice was cold and mocking, as he put on a sad smile to suppress the crashing waves of pain that threatened to suffocate him.

Nadia looked at him in silence, her chin trembling from the effort to hold back her sobs. Her eyes glossed over, mirroring the pain he felt. She opened and closed her lips several times, and Guzmán could see her battling herself, her vulnerability.

“I don’t know what to do anymore.” She whispered after what seemed like ages, a choked sob escaping her lips.

And just like that, she stripped away the coldness in his stance in an instant. He stepped close to her and cupped her warm cheeks, stroking them with his thumb, praying that she wouldn’t pull away.

She closed her eyes and inadvertently relaxed into his touch like she’d done so many times before. And in that moment, Guzmán felt the world shifting around him, disappearing, leaving just the two of them and the clusterfuck of emotions they felt for each other.

She tilted her head back and looked at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Everything is falling apart, Guzmán.” Her voice broke, unable to hold in the tears. “Abbu’s sick and Omar isn’t home. I’m trying manage the store and their expectations - trying to be the daughter that they want but it’s so fucking hard. I lost the scholarship offers because of the leaked video. I can see my dreams crashing before my eyes and all I want to do is run to you and-“ she paused, choking on her cries, “and hold you and forget - just for a little while - that everything is ruined. But I can’t because I’ve pushed you away and ruined us too.” She choked out, tears freely running down her cheeks.

Watching Nadia break in front of his very eyes was crushing whatever was left of his heart. Guzmán engulfed her in his arms, crashing her to his chest. He released a shaky breath and pressed his lips to the crown of her head. His insides were being ripped to shreds with every sob that reverberated through her body. “Shh,” he tried to comfort her but it came out as a whimper.

And so he stood there, holding on to her like dear life, as she cried her heart out. He eased his hold a little when he felt her sobs subside. He pulled back slightly, taking in her face, feverish and exhausted. He cupped her cheeks again, wiping away the remnants of her tears. She reached up and held on to his fingers.

“It’s killing me and I don’t know what to do.” She said, her voice defeated, eyes resigned.

He pressed his lips to her temple, before lowering his forehead to hers.

“Well, for starters, stop pushing me away.” He said, smiling softly, flicking her nose.  
That earned him a soft laugh and his heart soared at the sight of her smile. He had missed the feeling of his heart skipping a few beats as she smiled at him.

“You don’t hate me?” She asked in a small voice, doubt clouding her eyes.

He smiled, shaking his head at her silliness. "I get hurt, angry and start losing my mind when you do this on and off thing. But never have I once hated you."

"Although", he continued, "I'd like to make a petition on behalf of my poor heart. Please don't do this anymore." He had intended to joke but it came out as an earnest plea.

Nadia bit her lip and looked away, hesitant to make a promise only to end up disappointing him later.

"Hey", he tilted her chin back towards him, looking at her reassuringly. "I'm not asking for any promises. Just- " he reached for her small hands, cocooning them in his large ones. "-just talk to me, okay? And don't hold yourself back. Can you do that?"

She held his unwavering gaze, considering his words. “Yeah”, she nodded finally, her voice raspy from crying. “That sounds doable.” A small smile graced her full lips, lighting up her face. He loved how her smile always reached her eyes. 

The unyielding vice grip of despair that had him in a chokehold for months loosened around his neck and Guzmán suddenly found it easier to breathe again. Uninhibited ecstasy washed over his features making him grin from ear-to-ear. He had to bite down an irresistible urge to kiss her and claim her plump lips. He had to proceed with extreme caution with Nadia so as to not overwhelm her and propel her back into the self-destructive mode. 

“Let’s get you home.” Squeezing her hand, he smiled softly at her.

“Guzmán-”,she began, eyes filled with trepidation.

“Relax. I’ll drop you a few blocks down the shop. Your father won’t see me.” He assured, dispelling her fears.

Nadia regarded him silently, her tired eyes communicating a myriad of emotions, but mostly gratitude for understanding her, for putting up with her complications. Guzmán flashed her a knowing smile before tugging her hand, leading her towards his car.

Guzmán spent the entire ride alternating his attention between driving and sneaking glances at her pristine face as she slept peacefully beside him in the passenger seat. She had fallen asleep minutes after getting in his car, tiredness taking over. He had reached out and touched her cheek several times but her temperature seemed to be at a constant high, worrying him. He had parked the car at a pharmacy on their way and grabbed a couple of paracetamols and other flu medicines. He had taken the liberty of sneaking them into her backpack, knowing full well that her pride would get in the way of her accepting them.

Time seemed to fly by and dejection settled in the pits of his stomach as Nadia’s store came into view. He parked the car a few blocks away and turned towards her. He reached out to wake her but stopped midway, as a surge of emotions wrecked his insides, paralysing him. He could spend an eternity just looking at her, being near her. His eyes raked over her face, memorising every minuscule detail, afraid if he broke this delicate moment, he’d lose her again. But she was sick and she had already been careless about it for too freaking long. 

“Nadia”, he called out softly, giving her shoulder a light squeeze.

A soft moan escaped her lips as she blinked her eyes open, taking a moment to focus on him. A lazy smile adorned her face as she looked at him with sleepy eyes. 

“Sleep well?” He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand and tucked back the curls that had escaped her bun. 

“Yeah”, she smiled gratefully, looking out front and her smile faltered ever so slightly as she spotted the shop. 

She clutched her bag, focusing her eyes on it, not making a move to leave. Guzmán had to assemble every ounce of self control to keep himself from driving her to his place and caging her in his arms, never letting go. 

He kept his eyes trained on the steering wheel, his hands gripping it tight until his knuckles turned white, as Nadia moved in the periphery of his vision, unbuckling her seat belt. He remained frozen as she opened the door, stepped out and shut the door. He bit his lip, refraining from saying the million things he was dying to say, as she stood outside the gate, hesitating.

_Will I see you tomorrow?  
Will you call me if your condition worsens?  
Promise not to over-exert yourself.  
Please, for fuck sake, don’t shut me out again.  
Take care of yourself.  
I love you. _

Instead, his haunted eyes followed her until she disappeared into the shop. He turned the car around, eyes burning with unshed tears and sped home. 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Cursing under his breath, he reached for his phone for the umpteenth time in 5 hours, checking for new messages. Disappointment chained itself around his heart like a dead weight and he felt himself sinking in a bottomless pit.

Helplessness crippled his mind and he pulled up Samu’s number yet again. He was about to hit call when his phone buzzed suddenly. His hands froze as he took in the notification.

_**1 New message from Nadia.** _

His fingers tapped open on their own accord as his heart plummeted inside his chest.

_**I’m feeling better now.** _

It was crisp. It was just what he needed.

Relief crept back into his soul, putting him out of his misery. She was okay. She was talking to him. Though the brief sentence didn’t really constitute talking, it was a start. His phone buzzed twice in succession.

_**Thank you for the medicines. I’ll reimburse you tomorrow (non-negotiable).**_

_**P.S. Stop forcing Samuel to come check on me.** _

**Author's Note:**

> I swear I intended this to be a short Drabble but then I started writing and I just-couldn’t-stop.
> 
> This is the first time I’m writing a fanfic. English isn’t my native language. So, please look past my mistakes or better yet, kindly point them out so I can rectify them.
> 
> Thank you for reading this. I hope it was worth your time. :)


End file.
